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Fixed Point Landing
The fixed point landing is one of the most challenging tasks to perform, both in the simulator and in reality. Challenges For a planet with an atmosphere, any ship will not follow the flight path displayed before atmospheric entry. Also, there are no guidance surface points visible on the map. If you want to make a ship return to the Launchpad, you will first need to locate it somehow. The third major problem is that landing at a fixed point requires precise flying maneuvers and extra fuel consumption. The only way you can see a certain surface feature on the map is to send a ship or object there, then try to land at the destination using complex flying maneuvers as listed here: Without Atmosphere For the Moon, Mercury, Phobos, and Deimos, follow these steps: # Send a Lander to a certain point, so that you can see your target. # Bring your ship into orbit (not very low, you will need space for maneuvers). A good rule of thumb is to be about one planetary radius above the surface. # Decelerate your ship so that your flight path will become perpendicular to the surface. # Conduct some trajectory correction maneuvers. If the landing place is not below your ship, fire the engines forwards or backwards, so that the ship will be above the target. # Sometimes, it is good to keep a slightly tilted trajectory, so that you can see the flight path intersecting the target. # Let the ship fall toward the surface. From time to time, fire retrograde and perform some trajectory correction maneuvers to change the flight path to the left or right. # When the ship is close enough, change from map view to physics view and zoom out, so that you can see your ship, the surface and the target. Burn retrograde and conduct some left-right corrections. # If you want to land on a previous ship, reduce the craft's velocity to under 10 m/s in order to avoid damaging both ships. # For small celestial bodies like Phobos and Deimos, it is possible to gently adjust position of a ship with the help of RCS Thrusters. This is the first place where a fixed point landing should be attempted. With Atmosphere If a planet has an atmosphere, things become more complicated. In reality, complex mathematics and high-precision maneuvers are required to land a ship. In the simulator, this is not required. For a celestial body with an atmosphere, follow these steps: # Get a target ship (a Lander) where you want to land to mark the landing zone, if the target is the Launchpad, build a small craft next to it. # Perform an aerobrake or a retrograde burn to create a reentry path. The end of the path should be slightly further from the landing area. # Once entered the atomsphere, excess velocity may cause the ship to rotate and tilt. Apply slight engine or RCS thrust to a proper angle - about 25 to 40 degrees from vertical depending on the altitude. # Execute a burn when arriving at the lower part of the atmosphere. This slows down the craft to prepare for a propelled landing or a parachute landing. # If it is planned to execute a parachute landing, open the parachute when the velocity and the altitude is suitable. # If it is planned to execute a propelled landing, fire up the engines to slow down the craft to a safe stop. Whilst burning, the trajectory should adjust itself to be directly onto the landing area. Rotate the craft if needed. Tips Conducting a fixed point landing is very difficult. For less experienced astronauts, attempt this first on Phobos and Deimos, then, try it on the Moon. After a successful Moon fixed point landing, try it on Earth (where experimentation is easier), then on other planets. If you want to land directly on top of a Helping Vehicle (this is often done on Venus), Burn retrograde to slow down below 10 m/s to avoid damaging both ships # On Mars, burn retrograde if the ship's altitude is below 2500 m, then open the parachute. # On Earth, once you open the parachute, fire the engines retrograde to slow down and perform minor trajectory corrections. # On Venus, once the parachutes are open, only perform minor trajectory corrections. Category:Gameplay